Anybody that is serious about building their business or brand REALLY should have a trademark. You’

If your business doesn't have a trademark, then you're essentially leaving the door open for competitors and copycats to come in and basically copy your brand. Not to mention, having a trademark generally increases the value of your business and makes you much more attractive to potential investors or buyers. So in this video, I'm going to quickly try to explain the basic steps to registering a trademark for your business. The first step is to do a very thorough search to make sure that nobody else is selling a similar product or service using the mark that you want to register. It's important to note that if somebody else is using a name that is similar or even sounds similar to yours, then you might get a rejection from the Trademark Office. The second step is to choose which class of the 45 classes that your product or service falls within. Once you determine the proper class for your product or service, you're then going to want to send in a specimen to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This is essentially a photograph or some sort of proof that you're actually using this mark in commerce. The last step is basically to submit the entire application and then wait 3 to 6 months to hear back from them. And keep in mind, the entire process takes around 9 to 12 months right now.